Wicked River
Author | : Lee Sandlin |
Publisher | : Vintage |
Total Pages | : 314 |
Release | : 2010-10-19 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780307379511 |
ISBN-13 | : 0307379515 |
Rating | : 4/5 (11 Downloads) |
Download or read book Wicked River written by Lee Sandlin and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-10-19 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting narrative look at one of the most colorful, dangerous, and peculiar places in America's historical landscape: the strange, wonderful, and mysterious Mississippi River of the 19th century. Beginning in the early 1800s and climaxing with the siege of Vicksburg in 1863, Wicked River brings to life a place where river pirates brushed elbows with future presidents and religious visionaries shared passage with thieves. Here is a minute-by-minute account of Natchez being flattened by a tornado; the St. Louis harbor being crushed by a massive ice floe; hidden, nefarious celebrations of Mardi Gras; and the sinking of the Sultana, the worst naval disaster in American history. Here, too, is the Mississippi itself: gorgeous, perilous, and unpredictable. Masterfully told, Wicked River is an exuberant work of Americana that portrays a forgotten society on the edge of revolutionary change.